Brearley blog: Welcome to WCC
Published: 28 May 2012

In his latest blog, exclusively for Lords.org, MCC World Cricket committee Chairman Mike Brearley welcomes his four new Members, and thanks those leaving.

When I took over the chairmanship of the World Cricket committee from Tony Lewis I was privileged to be taking on a group of very eminent and talented individuals.

However, it is important to keep the committee fresh and bring in new faces, and that’s why we invited Jimmy Adams, Charlotte Edwards, Rod Marsh and Michael Vaughan to join. They will be the first tranche in our new rotation policy.

When I was thinking about who to ask I had to consider the need for a range of both nationalities and ages, for experience and knowledge of international cricket, and for people with ideas about the game and the ability to express them.

A good geographical spread is important because without it we would have a less credible claim to be a global committee. The departure of Courtney Walsh after five years’ great service meant the need for a West Indian was acute. Although I have yet to meet him, many people spoke very highly of Jimmy Adams for his shrewd and thoughtful views on the game, and that was the main factor in my inviting him on board. It is a bonus that Jimmy is heavily involved with county cricket as coach of Kent, and is also president of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA).

I firmly believe that corruption cannot be defeated unless the players are totally on board with the processes of prevention, investigation and deterrence, and so FICA has a major role to play amongst the bodies trying to combat the problem – the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit and our committee included.

Strange as it may seem, I also don’t know Michael Vaughan terribly well either, but I like what I hear from him through his media work. He’s thoughtful, intelligent, quick, and, of course, was a terrific player and excellent captain. That he is still very close to the England set up is also in his favour – even more so given the fact that Andy Flower had to stand down: it turns out that the England job is somewhat all-consuming. However Andy is one of those people I would love to see back on the committee at some time in the future.

Although our aim is to have people on for five-year stints, it does not preclude them re-joining after a couple of years off, and Andy, like others from the original committee, would be most welcome back in the coming years.

Rod Marsh is someone I know very well, having played against him several times. I always thought he would have made an excellent Australia captain; he is a great thinker about the game, and, of course incredibly experienced.

Fourth, there is Charlotte Edwards. Her inclusion reflects not just the growth and increasing profile of the women’s game but also her success as a player and captain. Charlotte has been at the top of the game for so long it’s easy to forget she is still in her early thirties, but her youthful enthusiasm coupled with her experience will make her a great asset to the committee.

Finally, I am delighted that Dave Richardson has been proposed as the new chief executive of ICC by the ICC Board. Dave’s input has been invaluable to both the World Cricket committee and Laws sub-committee and undoubtedly helped foster closer working relations between MCC and ICC. Whether Dave stays on the committee, I hope that we can continue to work together for the good of the game. I wish him the very best in his future role.